1. The Facts

The DSS 2003 took place at Frensham Heights, an Edwardian country house, situated near Farnham in the lovely countryside of Surrey southwest of London. For the first time it wasn't organised by the Dolmetsch company itself, but under the auspices of the "6th Musical Summer at Frensham Heights", arranged by LMFL. The Manor usually serves as a boarding school and offers a lot of facilities for musical activities including a nice concert hall and a brand new "Music Block" building with rooms for rehearsal, preparation and performance. The accomodation could not quite match that standard, and some of the participants obviously expected more than the rather old-fashioned boarding school conditions.

The course started on Sunday, July 20th with some 35 recorder players, most of them from the UK, but there were players from the Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and even Japan as well. With students aged from 10 to 70+, mostly of astonishing high abilities, the different courses were well visited. From breakfast to lunch, three recorder technique classes were offered: a middle intermediate class, tutored by Marguerite Dolmetsch, a higher intermediate class with Rachel Gregory and an advanced class with Jeanne Dolmetsch and David Bellugi.

The afternoon was reserved for ensemble classes and the recorder orchestra. Whereas the technical lessons had been prepared by the players beforehand, the ensemble and orchestra pieces were played from sight. Unfortunately, Denis Bloodworth was unable to conduct the orchestra due to illness. So Dolmetsch's Dr. Blood had to stand in. The orchestra suffered a bit from a lack of big instruments: Only one player had taken the burden of bringing a great bass; more great or even contra basses would have been appreciated.

In addition to the recorder courses, a viol class was offered by Dolmetsch, and those who wanted to sing were allowed to join the LMFL choir.

Dr. Blood ran a small shop with a selection of fine Dolmetsch recorders and various music from solo to multi-choir pieces of all times including some interesting contemporary pieces.

The daily time table ended with dinner, but thanks to the fact that most of the school's facilities were open to the musicians even afterwards, some took the opportunity to play on their own in spontaneously formed groups.

Due to the fine weather, spare time could be spent in the school's swimming pool, with a walk through the lovely surroundings or a visit at the pubs in the neighbouring village of Rowledge. From Wednesday on, the LMFL offered numerous evenig concerts of their vocal, orchestral and Jazz classes, partly in the stylish ambience of the main building's ball room.

The course ended with short concerts from each technique class on Saturday, July 26th.

2. My personal impressions

As a first-time participant, I have to admit that my expectations were at least met, if not exceeded. From a musical point of view, I got a lot of inspirations from the absolutely charming Marguerite Dolmetsch and much fun from playing in lively Rachel Gregory's ensembles, not to forget an impressing rehearsal of a 12-part Gabrieli piece conducted by the fabulous David Bellugi.

Meeting all the Dolmetsch- and LMFL-people, including renowned tutors, from about 15 different countries in an open and friendly ambience was absolutely amazing and very enjoyable for me. The minor drawbacks concerning accomodation and organizational frictions were clearly outweighed by this experience. After all, there were rumours that next time biscuits will be offered with the afternoon tea ;-)

All in all, I won't hesitate to recommend this event to every recorder player who wants to get new ideas and inspirations. One restriction: Rating myself as a grade 4 to 5-player, I was rather challenged by some of the music and the tutor's demands. To get a real benefit from the courses, grade 4 abilities should at least be met.

3. Further information

Thanks to the internet, further information is easily accessible on the following websites:

Dolmetsch:  www.dolmetsch.com
LMFL:  www.lmfl.com
Lots of photos:  www.davidbellugi.com/dss2003/

And of course I'm comfortable with answering any questions. Feel free to contact me directly:  hoja@ib-wesemann.de

4. Special thanks

• Keith for his patience with a rather mediocre recorder player, - Liz for lots of fun with her 'sainted' Gb and English history,
• Norman for keeping the count of the bass section and travel reports,
• Mitsuru for being a fine recorder player and a great companion,
• Gronia for introductions to British beer and Irish literature,
• Alan for an exclusive tour of the premises and taxi services,
• Arlette for a warm welcome, social meetings and distinguished drinks,
• Paolo for inviting me to his birthday party,
• and last but not least Brian, not only for valuable insights into his dressing habits... ;-)

Hope to see you all again!

Sven Hoja